Reunited with the Ghost of the Jungle
by PhantomPhoenixGirl
Summary: Leonarda is missing and believed to be dead after so many years, but is she really? When Master Splinter and the turtles venture to Central America to get more in touch with nature and their spiritual side they hear strange stories about the Ghost of the Jungle. Is this just a legend or is something else going on here? FemLeo & FemMickey (2012 universe mostly) Better than it sounds
1. Chapter 1

"Very good my children. You still have much to learn, but I see no harm in you four joining me tomorrow to find food." Master Splinter stated to the four very excited turtles. Young Michelangela jumped up and down in excitement. Splinter could not be more proud of his sons and daughters. As always Leonarda excelled in the lesson, followed closely by her brother Rapheal. Donetello and Michelangela could use a little more work, but Splinter reminded himself that they were only six years old.

"Yay! I'm so happy that we finally get to explore the tunnels with you. This will be our first adventure outside the lair." Michelangela beamed, grinning from ear to ear.

Splinter stopped in front of his daughter, "Yes, but you must remember to stay close to me and not wander off. There are beings out there who would mean us harm if they found us."

"You mean those robots you told us about?" Donetello asked.

"Yes." Splinter replied, thinking back to when his life changed forever as he transformed into a rat and the four little turtles he had bought from the pet store turned into something more human. Then those strange identical robots, whose glowing green ooze caused their transformation, tried capturing them to experiment on them. He did not regret what happened that day though, especially since it gave him another chance at having a family.

Coming back to the present Splinter continued, "That is why you must do as I tell you tomorrow. And remember your ninja training, make sure you are not spotted by any humans."

"Yes Sensei," each turtle responded.

Splinter smiled, "Then off to bed. We have a big day tomorrow."

None of the turtles had ever seen Michelangela run to bed that fast before in her life.

(LINEBREAK)

Leonarda followed swiftly and quietly behind Master Splinter, occasionally looking behind her to make sure her siblings were still there. Even though she didn't show it, she was just as excited as Michelangela to be on this little expedition. Before they had left this morning Splinter had pulled her aside and asked her to watch out for the others. She was proud that Splinter trusted her enough for the job. She knew it was partially because she was the oldest, but she was also the least likely to wander off. Michelangela wanted to explore everything, Donetello would get sidetracked by anything he could possibly use to build a new piece of machinery or pertain to science, and Rapheal would wander off just cause he could. She rolled her eyes at that, thinking how Raph would defy any order he could.

They had been exploring the tunnels most of the morning by this point. They had found a decent amount of food, but not enough to last them very long. Eventually, Splinter came to a man whole. He did not want to leave his children alone in the tunnel, but he knew he would not find enough food for them unless he went to the surface. Making his decision he said, "Wait here, I must go up to find us more food."

As he was about to turn around he heard Michelangela say, "Can't we come with you?"

"No, it is to dangerous and you are still to young to come with me to the surface. Wait for me here, I will return as soon as I can."

And with that he was gone. Rapheal grumbled at not being allowed to follow. Donetello and Michelangela were slightly nervous, but Leonarda kept them calm. Suddenly there was a shout of, "Krang! Krang has found the missing mutants." Turning around the turtles all gasped when they saw that it was the robots Master Splinter had warned them about. There appeared to be five of them. "Good Krang, now Krang must capture said mutants so Krang may experiment on them."

With that the Krang opened fire on the turtles and chaos ensued. The turtles, sticking together, ran down random tunnels with the Krang not far behind. Soon they were lost, but they knew they couldn't stop. As Leonarda tried to lead her siblings to safety, she heard Michelangela grunt. Turning around, causing Raph and Donny to stop along with her, she realized Michelangela had tripped and the Krang were closing in on her. "Angela!" Leonarda yelled as she, Raph, and Donny rushed back to Michelangela's side to help her. They were immediately surrounded. When the Krang opened fire once more, the turtles all jumped and dodged out of the way. Sadly, Leonarda jumped in the opposite direction of her siblings, seperating her from them. All the Krang turned their focus on Raph, Angie, and Donny who had unknowingly backed themselves into a corner with nowhere to run.

Seeing this, Leonarda panicked, afraid for her siblings lives and did the only thing she could think of. She hoped her plan would cause the Krang to focus on her instead of her brothers and sister. Pulling out her twin katanas (that is what they are called right), she charged at two of the robots and plunged her blades into their backs causing them to spark and offline. As she had hoped, this caught the attention of the three remaining Krang who turned and fired at her. She dodged and called out, "Come and get me you stupid Krang!" The Krang started chasing her, completely forgetting about her siblings. As she ran off to lead the Krang away from brothers and sister, she looked back at her siblings to yell, "Run! Go hide! I will find you later!"

She took the Krang on a wild goose chase, but eventually she began to tire. She turned a corner only to find a dead end. There was nowhere else to go seeing as the only thing in front of her was several outlets of cascading water which fell down into a swirling pool below. She turned around hoping there was time to choice another tunnel. Unfortunately, the three remaining Krang had caught up with her and were blocking her escape.

"Surrender mutant so the Krang may perform experiments on you while Krang hunt down other turtle mutants."

She had to get back to her family, but she knew her chances of getting past the robots were slim. An idea popped into her head. It was a crazy idea, but it was her best bet of getting away. She carefully back up to the edge of the pool below her. Seeing she was not surrendering, the Krang on the left pulled the trigger once more. Leonarda jumped and took the plunge, but not fast enough as she felt pain bloom in her right temple. Before she could register anything else, she hit the water, hard. Head spinning, she held her breath as black spots popped up in her vision. The swirling water pulled her into another tunnel. She swam, trying to find somewhere to surface. When she thought she could hold her breath no longer she saw light. Swimming towards it, she found the surface.

Taking deep breaths, she took in her surroundings. To her horror, she realized she was above ground. Remembering Splinter saying to stake out of sight, she got out of the water in search of some place to hide. She didn't get very far before she saw more black spots and felt searing pain in her temple. She stopped, trying to clear the black spots. Realizing she wouldn't get very far, she look around for any nearby hiding place. Spotting a bunch of wooden crates, she made her way over to them. She found a crate that had a broken lid where she could open one corner of the lid enough to squeeze inside the crate. Inside the crate were tons of packages of biscuits. Once Leonarda got the lid situated so no one could see her, she checked herself out. For the most part she seemed fine, except for the side of her head where she had been hit. It was bleeding profusely. Taking out some bandages she kept, she began to wrap her head. Once finished, she laid back hopping to get rid of the wooziness. She had to get back to the sewers and her family, but she knew she couldn't right now in broad daylight. She would just have to wait until nightfall. Slowly loosing consciousness from all the blood loss, her last thoughts before darkness consumed her were hoping that her brothers and sister were okay. As she was slipping off into sleep, she was unaware of the fact that the crate she was hiding in was being loaded onto a ship.

(LINEBREAK)

Splinter had finally found enough food to last them a while. It took him longer than he had hoped because three Krang (the same three Krang who found the turtles, they were headed to inform the rest of the Krang about the turtles) had discovered him. He took them out easily enough, but the hard part was leading them somewhere secluded.

When he made his way down into the sewer, he realized it was to quiet. Hurrying the rest of the way down, he looked around searching for his children. There was no sight of them. Splinter started to panic, fearing the worst. Catching Donetello's sent, he started making his way through the tunnels. He hoped his children were alright. Why had they not silenced to him? Why had they left there spot? What could have caused them to leave? It was not like them, especially Leonarda and Donetello, to disobey.

After fifteen minutes of searching, he finally found them. "Donetello! Michelangela! Rapheal!" They were all hiding on top of a piped near the tunnels ceiling.

"Master Splinter!" They all cried, jumping down and hugging him.

Splinter looked around confused. "Where is Leonarda?"

Michelangela sniffled, "We don't know. She never came to find us like she promised."

"Donetello, what happened here? Why did you all run off?" Splinter inquired of Donetello, knowing he would get the whole story from him.

"It was those robots you told us about. They call themselves the Krang. They found us while we were waiting for you to return. They started shooting at us, so we ran. We couldn't loose them, and they eventually had the three of us surrounded. Leonarda got their attention, and lead them away. She told us to hide and that she would come find us. She never came to find us Master Splinter." Donetello finished, his voice quivering.

Fearing for his oldest child, Splinter rushed his other three children home and went out searching for Leonarda. His search was fruitless. He continued searching for the next two weeks in the hope that he would find her or she would somehow find her way home. Even though he never found her, he still believed she was out there somewhere. He just knew it, she had to be alive.

 **Hope you like it so far, I'm not completely sure what all is going to happen. I have an basic outline of where I want this to go, but I may add some stuff later on. Just so you know Angie or Angela will be short for Michelangeala, and Lea will be short for Leonarda. Please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok, this chapter takes place after The Mutation Situation episode and before the Mutagen Man Unleashed episode. Also, I know this isn't there real ages but for this story I am saying that the turtles are 17. i do not own TMNT.**

The turtles sat around the lair solemnly, put out after Angela's (Michelangela, also known as Angie or Angela) comment. They had just returned to the lair after successfully trapping the squirrelanoids. Angie had been so excited she squealed, "That was awesome! I can't believe I actually did it. Oh, I can't wait to tell April all...". Angela came to a halt as she realized what she had said.

None of them had heard from April since her father got turned into a bat. They were all upset that April refused to have anything to do with them at the moment, but it hurt Angela the most. Ever since they had lost Lea (Leonarda), Angie had been the only girl. She loved Raph and Donnie, but she couldn't talk with them like she had talked with Lea. Lea was the one she shared all her secrets with, had girl talks with, and did girly activities with such as painting each others nails. Lea had been Angela's bigger sister, the one she looked up to and could confide in. Angela loved the boys, but there were certain things she couldn't talk about or do with them. It just wasn't the same. Since April had started coming around, she had helped to fill part of the whole left in Lea's wake. And with April refusing to have anything to do with the turtles, it was tearing Michelangela up inside.

The only thing keeping Angie going was her mate, Donatello. Seeing his mates down trodden state, Donnie went up to her and wrapped his arms around her. They had only been mates for six months now, and they couldn't be happier. Donnie thought back to when they had asked for Splinter's blessing.

They had been dating secretly for a year prior to that. They cared deeply for each other, and had discussed becoming mates for three months. They had been hesitant to bring this up for several reasons. First being they were afraid Splinter would refuse. Although they were not technically brother and sister, Donnie had checked, they were still raised as siblings. This being said, they were unsure of what Splinter's reaction would be. Secondly, after Splinter gave his blessing they weren't sure how Raph would react to the news. He was prone to anger and fits of violence of course, but that wasn't the problem. With them being together that would mean Raph would be all alone. Sure he was still their brother, but this meant he would have no one.

Things went better than they had expected. Although Splinter was hesitant to give his blessing at first, he gave it saying that he just wanted his children to be happy. When they broke the news to Raph, they were surprised by the reaction they got. Raph's eyes had gotten wide, and he just stood there for several moments not saying anything. They were waiting for him to blow up and storm off. What they got after he gained his bearings was a smirk as he threw his arms around both of them and said, "Good for you. I'm completely cool with it as long as you two don't keep me up throughout the night." Donnie and Angie couldn't be happier with the way things had gone, and they were so happy that Raph was okay with them being together.

What they didn't know was that Raph was not okay. He was happy for them, but at times like this when they were embracing and supporting each other it hit Rapheal how utterly alone he was. He knew they were still there for him, but seeing them together made him realize that he was destined to forever be alone. He knew there was no one out there who would ever look at him the way they looked at each other. He would always be a freak, an outsider looking in on what he could never have.

Because of this he had begun to pull away from them, so he wouldn't have to see what he was missing out on. He began to go out on his own a lot more, and had made a new personification for himself for when they did not patrol together. He became the Nightwatcher complete with a black suit, helmet, and bike.

Splinter observed his children from the dojo. He knew Raph was hurting inside, and although Rapheal thought his family was unaware of Nightwatcher Donatello and Michelangela came back from patrols with stories they had heard from citizens and the police about him. It had not taken long for Master Splinter to realize that Raph was Nightwatcher. He had not brought this knowledge to Rapheal's attention yet, but he knew he would have to do something soon or Rapheal would inevitably wind up in a situation he would not be able to get himself out of.

Not only that, Splinter could see how much not having April come around was effecting his children as well as his self. He had slowly begun to see April part of the family, another daughter. Splinter had to remind himself that she was not truly his. She had her own family, and she could never replace Miwa or Leonarda. Besides, she belonged in the human world. Still, he hoped her anger would dissipate soon. For even if she did belong in the human world, he did not see the harm in her visiting.

Splinter shook his head. He could not worry about April right now, he had his children to worry about at the moment. What could he do to help lighten their spirits? They were all upset over April, but at least Donatello and Michelangela were there for each other. Splinter saw that Rapheal was off to the side by himself again. At times like this, Splinter desperately wished that Leonarda was still around so Rapheal could at least still have someone to talk to. Rapheal hadn't been the same since she disappeared without a trace even though it was eleven years ago. Thinking about this, Splinter came to the conclusion his children needed to do some spiritual cleansing. Looking around he realized the lair was probably not the best place to do that seeing as there were to many memories made with both Leonarda and April here which would cloud the mind and spirit making it almost impossible to perform the spiritual cleansing here. Meaning they would need to leave to lair for this to be of any help.

So where should he take them? It would need to be some place remote or less inhabited so they did not run the risk of being seen and if they were they could hide. It also needed to be somewhere you could easily connect with ones spirituality easily. The perfect place came to mind. It would be a bit of a journey and he was not sure how long they might be gone, so they would need to leave a note just in case on the off chance that April might come by while they were away. No need for her to worry. There were a couple other things they would need to do before they could leave, but Splinter was positive they would be ready to leave by tomorrow afternoon.

Master Splinter walked into the main lair, "My children."

Three heads turned his way, "Yes Master Splinter?"

"I want you to go pack your bags, make sure to pack nonperishable food and your weapons."

Donatello tilted his head to the side, curiosity in his eyes. "How come Master Splinter?"

"I have decided we are leaving on a little trip to cleanse our spirits. Now go, pack your bags. We will be leaving tomorrow." With that he turned to leave, and pack his own bag.

"Where are we going Sensei?" Angela inquired excitedly, already feeling a little better than her previous mood.

"Panama."

 **That's it for now, please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, this takes place after The Mutation Situation and before the Mutagen Man Unleashed. Also, I know this isn't there real ages but for this story I am saying that the turtles are 17. i do not own TMNT.**

Raph was fuming. He coudn't believe they were doing this. At the moment they were trudging through a jungle in the middle of Panama. He didn't know about Angie and Donnie, but he was a city turtle. He didn't know how to navigate in this foliage. Not only that, but the bugs were terrible. Everywhere you turn bugs and more bugs. If he saw so much as one roach, he was out of here. They had only been here for half a day, and Raph was sick of it.

"Master Splinter, I'm tired and my feet are killing me."

"Do not fret Michelangela. We will stop for the night very soon."

"How long are we planning on staying here anyway?" Raph butted in. "I can't stand this place."

Splinter sighed, he had expected as much from his children.

"What?!" Donnie yelled.

"Quiet Donatello." Splinter barked. "Remember we may be in the jungle, but there are still people around. Tourists and indigenous tribes."

"Sorry Sensei." Donnie replied. "But seriously Raph, how are you not fascinated? I mean, we're in Darien National Park in Panama. It's one of Central America's most ecologically diverse parks with thousands of different animal species, both vertebrates and invertebrates, including several endangered species such as the Gaint Anteater."

Raph rolled his eyes at his brothers nerd talk, "I guess I'm just a city turtle. And I'm surprised you're okay with this bro, seeing as there is no technology."

Donnie stopped where he stood, the fact that there was no technology only now registering.

Angela giggled, "I think you just broke Donnie, Raph."

Shaking his head Donnie says, "No, I'm okay." Then warily looks around. "I think."

The group walked on in silence until they came across a pond where Splinter decided they would rest for the night. "It will be dark soon my children. We will rest for tonight. Rapheal will help me set up the tent. Donatello, see if you can find us any food. I realize we still have some of the preserves we brought with us, but we should save the rest for the trip home. Michelangela, please go gather some firewood."

"Yes Sensei," they all responded and broke off to perform their tasks.

Angela headed further into the forest, searching for some dry wood. It had rained recently, so Angela was having a hard time finding wood that could be used for a fire. She continued on, searching further and further away from the campsite and her family. Finally she found some wood that was dry enough to be usable. Once she had collected as much as she could carry, she turned around to head back. Only to realize she had went so far away, that she wasn't sure of the way back. 'Great, just great. I'll never hear the end of it from Raph and Donnie about this. Hopefully I can find my way back before they come looking for me' Angela thought. She picked a direction and started walking, praying she was going the right way.

The longer she walked, the more panicked she became. 'Where am I? Is this the right way? Why didn't I pay more attention to where I was going?" Dusk had fallen, and it was getting darker and darker out. Angela's mind began playing tricks on her, and she began jumping at the slightest sound. Hours later Angela was still lost, wandering through the jungle.

Suddenly, Angela heard a growl. Angela clutched the wood to her chest. It was faint, but it had Angela looking around. 'Okay, think Angie. What could have made that noise?" She tried to remember everything Donnie had told her about Panama on their way here. Then it hit her, jaguars.

Donnie had said that jaguars are the third largest cat in the world, after tigers and lions. Angela flashed back to what else Donnie had said, "It's the largest cat found in the Americas and has the strongest jaw structure of any feline. Their bite is strong enough to pierce through its preys skull... or even crack through a turtles shell. And before you ask, yes they are known to eat turtles. They will eat almost anything they can catch. They are silent stalkers and ambush predators. They are also excellent swimmers and climbers."

Angela shivered, this did not help alleviate her fear. In fact, it only made it worse. There could be a jaguar stalking her right now and she wouldn't know until it was too late.

Angela looked around warily. The nocturnal noises of the night were getting to her. Then she heard a twig snap. For a brief moment Angela froze where she stood, then quick as a flash she bolted. Angela was afraid to look back, fearing she would see a jaguar chasing her. Not that she would be able to see much anyway with how dark it had gotten.

Curiosity got the best of her, and she looked over her shoulder. As far as she could tell there was nothing behind her. She was about to turn back around when, Wham! Angela fell flat on her back. She tried to get up, but the world was spinning and black spots were forming in her visions. Just before she blacked out, Angela could have sworn she saw a pair of eyes staring down at her from a nearby tree.

* * *

Donnie spaced back and forth for the hundredth time.

Raph growled, "Alright that's it. She should have been back by now. We need to go look for her."

Splinter frowned, "Yes my sons. I to am being to worry. Come my sons, we shall stick together and look for her as a group."

With that they were off.

* * *

It had started out as a normal day for Lea. She had eaten a light breakfast after meditation and a slight workout, and had headed off to check on the tribes. She always made sure to check on them and keep out any bad guys who would take advantage of them.

Lea was positive she would not be alive today if it wasn't for the tribes. Especially the Embera tribe. So she did everything she could to keep them safe. But she had to be careful, sometimes the tribes would get tourists. And while she didn't mind if the villagers saw her, seeing as they thought she was sent by gods as a protector of nature and humanity and praised her, she did not want to be seen by anyone else. Most people feared her if they saw her or wanted to send her to a lab to be experimented on. She even had a guy who hunted her, he couldn't seem to make up his mind whether he wanted to kill her or keep her as some sort of pet. She was sure which thought disturbed her more.

As she walked through the jungle, Lea fiddled with her necklace. It was a simple necklace of blue beads with a tooth in the middle, and it had started out as just a tooth.

Lea shook her head, coming back to reality. Even though she had lived in this jungle for years, she knew she couldn't let her guard down. There were predators out there who would eat her if given the chance, and she also didn't want any humans, accidentally or otherwise, to stumble across her.

The day went on as she checked in on the four tribes she watched over. Surprisingly, none of the tribe had any visitors that day and she could walk into the villages. Each tribe welcomed her with open arms. "Lea!" Children screamed excitedly and ran towards her. The little ones always loved it when she came by. She would always make time to play with them.

The Embera tribe was the last one she checked on before heading back into the jungle. Dusk had fallen, and in the jungle that meant lots of critters were just now waking up. The jungle was her home. She loved it here, but the jungle was still a dangerous place. She climbed up into the trees, and continued to make her way home to the little place she had made for herself, jumping from tree to tree. This way she could avoid any human stragglers that might still be heading back to their own abodes as well as predators whose domain was the ground. She still had to watch out for any snakes or jaguars that might be in the trees as well, but if there were any jaguars lurking in the treetops they wouldn't be able to get the drop on her.

She had learned her lesson about jaguars. They liked sneak attacks, and would sometimes hide in the trees ready to pounce down on any unsuspecting critter below. Thinking this, she unconsciously began to fiddle with the tooth on her necklace once more.

Movement below caught her attention. What Lea saw almost made her lose her footing and fall out of the trees. Down below, there was another turtle just like her.

Lea rubbed her eyes, thinking she was imagining things. The more she looked, the more Lea didn't know what to think. She hoped this turtle was a member of her long lost family, but she had seen most strange things in the past and didn't want to get her hopes up. Besides, it had been so long since she had seen her family that she couldn't really remember what they looked like. She knew that after eleven years there was no way they would look the same.

This could be another one of the hunter's tricks. He might be trying to lure her out. But then again, this could be a real turtle. However, if this was a member a her family, what on earth would they be doing here?

Hope rising in her heart against her better judgement, she grabbed a branch to steady herself and take a closer look at the turtle. It seemed they were lost. Should she reveal herself and help this turtle?

Suddenly, Lea's stomach growled very loudly. So loud in fact that the turtle heard it and froze. 'Darn it!' Lea thought. As she shifted to conceal herself better in the tree, the branch she had been holding onto for support snapped.

With that, the other turtle ran off blindly into the jungle. Lea raced after them, curious if they even knew where they were going. From above Lea was slowly catching up, when she saw the other turtle run smack dab into a rock. 'Oh, that's go to hurt' Lea thought, wincing as the other turtle fell onto their back. And for a moment before the other turtle passed out, Lea could've sworn the other turtle looked right at her.

Lea slowly ventured out of the tree, and made her way over to the unconscious turtle. Up close, she was able to tell the turtle was a female. She was wearing an orange mask over her eyes, and had nunchucks attached to her leather belt. The wood she had been carrying lay scattered all around her.

Lea was almost certain this was her sister. The question was what was she supposed to do with her? She couldn't just leave her laying here on the ground passed out. That was giving predators an open invitation to eat her. Yet she also couldn't take her to her lair on the off chance it actually wasn't her sister.

Okay, think Lea. She was carrying wood, so she must have a camp nearby. I'll just take her back to her camp for safe keeping. I'll retrace her tracks. Great, now all she had to do was her and her bundle of wood back somehow hopefully without her waking up.

Lea unraveled the chain she carried with her from around her waist, gathered the wood back together, wrapped a length of the chain around the wood to secure it, then wrapped the chain back around her waist. The wood hung at the side of her hip. Then as gently as she could, she picked the turtle up carrying her bridal style.

Somehow finding the other turtles tracks in the dark undergrowth, she slowly began retracing the turtles steps. Two hours later, Lea came across a pond with a camp set up. When she was positive there was no one else around she walked in the small clearing. She laid the turtle down, and leaned her against a rock beside the tent. Then she took the wood and laid it beside her. Looking around the campsite, Lea spotted multiple sets of footprints. If this truly was her sister Michelangela, then she wouldn't have come to the jungle by herself. Her family would have come with her. Still, she wasn't willing to take the risk. She was very untrusting of others after some of the things she had been through, and wouldn't reveal herself unless she was absolutely certain they were her family. All she needed was to hear a familiar name.

With that in mind Lea climb up into the trees once more. Getting far enough away that she shouldn't be spotted, but could still see and hear what was going on. She settled in to wait.

 **That's it for now, please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, this takes place after The Mutation Situation and before the Mutagen Man Unleashed. Also, I know this isn't there real ages but for this story I am saying that the turtles are 17. i do not own TMNT.**

Raph, Donnie, and Master Splinter made their way back to camp. They had searched all night and could not find Angela. Donnie wanted to keep looking, but the others convinced him that she might have found her way back to the campsite and might be waiting for them. Donnie desperately hoped so. He was sick with worry.

As they made it into the clearing, they saw Angela leaned up against a rock just outside the tent. "Oh thank heaven," Master Splinter said. They ran over to her, and kneeled down beside her. "Is she okay?" Raph asked. "Cause if she sent us on a wild goose chase for the heck of it I am going to pound her."

"She has a huge knot on her forehead, like she was running and rammed into something head on." Donnie said. He grabbed her shoulder and lightly shook her, "Hey. Babe, I need you to wake up for me. Come on, wake up."

Angela scrunched her face up and grumbled. "Shh, please don't yell. My head is killing me."

"I'm not yelling." Donnie was worried she might have a concussion. "I need you to open your eyes for me, hon."

He helped her sit up, and slowly she opened her eyes. Blinking several times to clear the blurry images of her family. "Hey guys, why do you three look so worried? Is everything okay?"

"My child, you did not come back to camp. We have been searching for you all night. Are you alright? What happened?"

Angela blinked a couple times, trying to concentrate on what her father said. She wasn't sure what he was talking about, she was having a hard time just listening to them. Her head was killing her. It felt like she had a boulder pressing down on her head. Slowly, everything came back to her. "I went to gather firewood as you said. However, I wandered much further than I realized searching for dry wood. By the time I had collected enough and turned around to head back this way, I had lost my sense of direction. I tried finding my way back, only to end up further away than before. At that point it had gotten dark, and I could barely see where I was going. I heard a growl and remembered you said there were jaguars out here. I ran when I heard a twig snap nearby, and when I turned back around after looking behind me I ran right into a rock. I think I passed out."

"Then how the heck did you find your way back here after knocking yourself silly?" Raph asked.

Angela squinted at him for a moment, processing what he was saying. "What are you talking about? I didn't find my way back. This is the first time I've been conscious since the ordeal. Didn't you find me and bring me back to camp? Cause otherwise I should still be passed out on the jungle floor somewhere."

Angela groaned when both of her brothers yelled, "What?! Then how did you get back to camp? Cause we couldn't find you!"

Splinter hushed his children. He stood up, and looked around to camp. There was a set of footprints leading to where Angela lay, but they seemed to small to be hers. Kneeling back down, Splinter inhaled Angela's scent. Another scent was lingering and intermingling with hers. He got up once more, sniffing the air to see if he could locate the scent. He couldn't.

"My children, pack up camp. We need to leave, now."

"What, why?" Raph did not like the idea of not even using the campsite after he had set it up.

"I believe we are being watched." Splinter growled slightly.

"How do you figure that?" Raph asked, looking around warily.

"Obviously your sister could not have come back to camp on her own and we did not bring her back, meaning someone else did." Both boys tensed. "Not only that, but there is a faint scent lingering around your sister that is not her own along with a different set of footprints. We must leave immediately."

"But we can't father," Donnie spoke up.

"What do you mean my son?"

"I'm positive she has a concussion. If we leave now without letting her rest, we may cause her more harm than good. Besides, if we are being watched we have to assume they are friendly seeing that they brought our sister back. They had the opportunity to hurt her and they didn't take it. We have to stay here for the time being if she is going to recover."

Splinter sighed, "Very well my son. But we should keep a look out just in case. This could be some sort of trap. And we do not know how long this person has been watching us, they could have been following us this whole time."

"But we're ninjas," Raph fumed. "How could somebody sneak up on us?"

"It must be a native." Donnie inferred. "They would know the lay of the land better than us, and would know how to navigate the land and surroundings without being discovered."

"Either way, we do not know their intentions. So we must remain cautious. Do what you can to help your sister. I will take first watch. As soon as she is well enough we are leaving."

* * *

Lea watched from her tree, remaining as motionless as possible. The rat suspected she was near. He was to keen for her liking. Even though she was eighty percent sure this was her family, she still had not gotten one of their names. That was all she needed to know for sure, was that to much to ask for?! Until she got a name she did not want to be discovered. So she remained still and waited, hoping the rat wouldn't spot her.

* * *

Splinter thought about what Donatello had said about the possibility of this person being friendly. Splinter was hopeful that that was the case, otherwise this was all just some elaborate setup. After all, there weren't to many people out there willing to help them. So why would they bring his daughter back? And how did they know where the camp was? Have they been watching them this whole time?

Even though Splinter couldn't see them, he could feel someone watching them. He must say they were good. Not even his children could hide from him this long, well except for Leonarda. She could hide from the best of them. But she had always been his top student. Even though she was only six years old when she disappeared she was way ahead in ninja training compared to her siblings. He wouldn't have considered her a master, but she had been getting close.

But the fact that some stranger was watching them put Splinter on edge. He was determined to find out who they were and what their intentions were concerning his family. Just then there was a slight change in the breeze, and Splinter was able to pinpoint his culprit.

He calmly walked up to Rapheal, and got his attention. Then they jumped into the surrounding trees, only to see a cloaked figure jumping into the distance. They quickly followed in pursuit.

* * *

As soon as the breeze shifted, Lea knew she had been discovered. The rats head had risen slightly as if he had caught her scent. She silently pulled her green cloak on and raised the hood. Then she silently made her way through the treetops.

She soon heard the sounds of them pursuing her. Lea knew she could probably out run them, but the rat would just follow her scent. An idea popped in her head. She changed course, running for the river connected to one of the many waterfalls. As she neared the stream, she took a deep breath and jumped in the water. Under the water, she swam upstream to the waterfall. Once there she swam under the falls and through a tunnel which lead to an underground cave connected to the water.

She came up feeling confident she had lost them. Now she just had to figure out what to do. She was still determined to watch them and learn their names, but she decided she should wait until tomorrow after things had died down a little and they weren't actively watching for her. That meant she was stuck here for the day unless she wanted to be discovered. And she hadn't even gotten to check up on the tribes.

She would check on the tribes first thing tomorrow morning before she continued her observations. But for now, she sat down and began to meditate.

* * *

Raph and Splinter were both frustrated. They had lost the figure. Splinter had been able to follow the scent to the river where it just stopped. They traveled up and down the riverbank on both sides, trying to see if they could find where the person had come out. No suck luck, it was like they had vanished into thin air.

Eventually they headed back to camp. With the figure gone and not there to watch where they went, Splinter insisted on packing up camp and leaving before they came back. Thankfully Donatello had said Angie had rested enough that it would be okay to move, but that as soon as they came upon their next campsite she would need to take it easy.

Packing everything up they were off. They had been walking for an hour of two when they came across a small tribe. They were about to continue on when Splinter caught the same scent from earlier. It was old, but Splinter could tell the figure who had been watching them came here often. So instead of moving on they made camp nearby. Splinter hoped that if they staked out the village, eventually they would find their culprit.

While they were watching for any sign of the mysterious figure, they kept on hearing the villagers talk about someone they called the Ghost of the Jungle. The more they heard, the more intrigued they became. Was it possible the one who had been watching them was the Ghost of the Jungle? If so, they should probably be thanking them. The Ghost of the Jungle was a hero to these people, and had apparently become somewhat of a legend. They would find out all they could about this Ghost and investigate, but first they had to focus on their own mystery person. It was all a waiting game now, and it was only a matter of time.

 **That's it for now, please review. The gang will be meeting the Ghost of the Jungle face to face next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, this takes place after The Mutation Situation and before the Mutagen Man Unleashed. Also, I know this isn't there real ages but for this story I am saying that the turtles are 17. i do not own TMNT.**

Lea had already checked the other tribes, but she was hesitant to venture into the Embera tribe. Something just didn't feel right. She stayed in the treeline with her cloak around her, hood up. As far as she could tell, nothing seemed amiss. But she had this feeling the in pit of her stomach, and she knew better than to ignore this. So she observed the village and the surrounding, looking for anything out of place.

* * *

It was early afternoon the next day, and still nothing had happened. Angela, whose head was feeling much better than the day before, was getting bored just sitting around with her family watching this village. Her mind began to wander back to when she had been lost. She hadn't told her family about the eyes watching her from the trees before she passed out. And even though she had been passed out, she was pretty sure she remembered feeling someone wrapping their arms around her and carrying her away.

She really wanted to meet whoever had brought her back so she could thank them, but she could tell her father and Raph were skeptical about her mystery hero. Angela knew she should probably have been a little skeptical as well, but then she about those arms carrying her. Yes she had been terrified before she passed out, but those arms somehow felt familiar. They had made her feel safe.

Angela was pulled out of her daydreaming by the sound of a gunshot. She turned back to the village where shouting could be heard. Chaos ensued, people running in every direction. A villager stopped, facing their general direction, and screamed into the forest, "Ghost of the Jungle! We need you!" The call was soon picked up by the rest of the village.

"What the hell are they screaming into the forest for? It's not like the Ghost of the Jungle is actually real." Raph said.

"Even though the Ghost of the Jungle is probably just a myth, these people clearly believe it is real." Donnie replied.

"Guys, real or not we have to help them!" With that, Angela jumped out of the trees and made her way into the village.

"Damn it, what is she doing? She just blew our cover!" Raph yelled.

"Rapheal, language!" Splinter reprimanded. "Yes she has blown our cover, but she is right. Whether the Ghost of the Jungle is real or not, these people are real and they need help. We will deal with the consequences of being seen later. Right now, we must help your sister."

* * *

A gunshot rang out and soon the villagers were calling out to her for help. Lea wished her gut feeling had been wrong. She was about to jump out of the tree to help the Embera people when she saw the turtle she had saved running through the crowd. 'Dang it' Lea thought. Soon after she saw the other turtles and the rat following after the orange banded one. 'What are they doing here? Things couldn't possibly get any worse!'

As soon as that thought ran through her mind, she heard the last voice she wanted to hear. "Ghost of the Jungle!" 'Never mind,' Lea groaned. 'It just got lots worse.'

* * *

Raph, Donnie, and Master Splinter followed Angela through the village. Raph wasn't surprised by all the looks they were getting, but the strange things was that the villagers didn't seem shocked at their appearance at all.

Many of the villagers had stopped running around, and were gathering in the center of the village. As they made their way to all the commotion, the villagers let them through. Raph heard many of them muttering. "Who are they?" "I didn't realize there were others." "They are not our Ghost of the Jungle." Raph was really confused by the 'others' comment, but let it slide for the moment. There were more important things to worry about.

Just then, as they were almost through the crowd, a deep voice yelled out. "Ghost of the Jungle!"

Finally breaking through the rest of the crowd, they saw a man with a Mossberg MMR rifle holding a woman against her will. The man shouted again, "Ghost of the Jungle! Where are you?!"

"Hey! Let her go!" Angela yelled.

The man turned in their direction along with the rest of the village. Upon seeing them, the man's eyes widened. "There are more of you," he whispered. His eyes narrowed on them. "I don't want you!" He yelled, "Only she will do. I have been hunting her to long to give up now. If I took one of you down, it would be like taking second best. No, I want her. I want the Ghost of the Jungle!"

"This guy is crazy." Raph whispered to Donnie. "What the hell is he talking about."

"I'm not completely sure." Donnie replied. "I'm assuming there must be another mutant living around here. He must be hunting this mutant, and from the sounds of it he's been hunting her for a long time. That's why he says he doesn't want us, and that only she will do. He's been after her so long that now it's personal. And it seems that this other mutant is also the Ghost of the Jungle."

"That's messed up." Raph cringed.

Angela was furious, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "How dare you!" She yelled at the man. "We are not just mindless beasts to be hunted! Now let that woman go!"

The mans grip only grew tighter, "No, I will not let her go until I have the Ghost of the Jungle!"

In a fit of rage usually only seen in Raph, Angela charged at the guy. But she only wound up taking the woman's place in the man's grip.

"Angie!" Donnie and Raph yelled in fright.

* * *

 _Angie._ They had said _Angie._ This really was her family, and her sister was now in the hunter's grasp. She was in danger. Lea braced herself, and made her way into the village. This certainly wasn't the family reunion she had imagined.

* * *

Angela squirmed in the man's grasp, trying to get free. The man only held on tighter. He pulled her in closer, and brought them face to face. With determination in his eyes the man questioned her. "I will only ask once, where is the Ghost of the Jungle?"

"Ronan!" A female voice called out from the other side of the clearing, grabbing everyone's attention. There, coming from the edge of the treeline was the cloaked figure they had been searching for. The hood was up, and the cloak surrounded their mystery person. They couldn't tell a thing about them except that they were female from her voice.

The man now know as Ronan smiled, "Ah, there you are my illusive little phantom."

"So we were right in our assumption that our mystery helper and the Ghost of the Jungle were the same being." Splinter said to his sons.

"Yes, but don't you realize what this means?" Getting only blank looks from his father and brother Donnie continued with his line of thought. "Remember, we are assuming this Ronan character has been hunting a mutant. If that is true then that means the Ghost of the Jungle, the same being who brought Angie back to the camp, is a fellow mutant like us."

They all tried getting another look at this Ghost of the Jungle. If they truly were another mutant, what Donnie said about this being being friendly made a lot more sense.

"Let her go Ronan," Lea said facing off.

Ronan smirked at her, "And why should I do that?"

"Because we both know she's not the one you want. I am."

"To true." Ronan pushed the orange clad turtle away, never taking his focus off Lea. "You're mine."

He charged at her, and she easily evaded. "So, are you trying to kill me this time or take me as your pet?" Ronan didn't answer as he charged again. Seeing as he hadn't shot at her yet, Lea assumed the later. At least for the moment. They continued fighting in silence until Angela jumped onto Ronan's back. He flipped her over his body and slammed her into the ground. "How dare you interfere! She is mine, and I will not let you stop me from taking her." Ronan began squeezing her neck, cutting off her air supply. Before Splinter, Raph, or Donnie could take action Lea already had. She charged at him screaming. Using her shoulder she rammed into him at full force sending both of them to the grown.

Donnie ran up to his mate to see if she was alright, Raph and Splinter standing guard behind him.

Things started to get more serious between Lea and Ronan. He had managed to pin her under his weight. He smiled as she struggled beneath him, "Finally." Ronan pulled out a taser from his belt, pressed the prongs into the skin on her neck, and zapped her. She screamed in pain as black spots began to form in her vision. She had to act fast or she would be out cold. Using her legs, she forced him off and over her body. In the process, Ronan's rifle fell off him and clattered in between them. Lea rolled over and made for the gun, she had to get him out of here now.

Ronan got to his feet, taser still firmly gripped in his hand. He ran for her, hoping to tase her before she could reach the rifle. No such luck. She grabbed the rifle and moved to evade getting tased again. But Ronan was able to grab her hood. He jerked it back along with her in the process as the ties cut into her neck. Lea spun around, and kicked his arm. Releasing her from his grasp.

Lea heard several gasps from her family at finally seeing her face, but she couldn't worry about that right now. She back away from Ronan, holding him at gunpoint. Ronan knew he was beat. He growled, "This is over Lea." Then he turned and walked away, leaving the village.

Even though she was shaking on the spot and her vision was still blurry, Lea held the gun on him until he was out of sight. Finally, she lowered the weapon, and all was quiet for a moment. Then a voice called quietly, "Leonarda."

 **That's it for now. Cliffhanger, I know. I'm just evil like that. Please review. Also, sorry if the fight scene wasn't the best.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok, this takes place after The Mutation Situation and before the Mutagen Man Unleashed. Also, I know this isn't there real ages but for this story I am saying that the turtles are 17. i do not own TMNT.**

Lea didn't know what to do. This was not how she imagined meeting her family again after all these years. Lea had hoped maybe the villagers would cause a distraction, but no such luck. They all seemed to be rooted to the spot, transfixed, just waiting for something to happen. Lea knew she had to face them, so she took a deep breath and turned around.

* * *

Raph couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was afraid to blink, fearing this was just a dream and that she would disappear if he took his eyes off her for one second. There before him, was a turtle he believed to be his long lost sister. The more he looked at her the more he knew this couldn't possibly be a dream. He couldn't dream anyone up who looked that gorgeous.

She had grown over the years. She still wore her blue mask, but other accessories were added as well. She still had her brown leather belt, the wrappings around her arms and legs, and her twin katana which were hanging at her side, but now she also sported a chain which she had wrapped around her waist above the belt, a dark green cloak, and a blue beaded necklace with a tooth in the middle. The only thing she was missing were the knee and elbow pads. She was the definition of HOT in Raph's opinion.

Raph was pulled out of his day dreaming when Master Splinter called out to her once again. "Leonarda, is that you my child?"

Lea was still shaking. Whether out of fear or the taser she had taken to the neck she couldn't tell. She was at a loss for words. Thankfully, she didn't have to say anything. For at that moment, Angela ran into her. She pulled her into a fierce hug, and broke down sobbing. "Lea," she whispered repeatedly. Lea stood there for a moment, her arms held out wide before she slowly embraced her sister. The others soon followed, encircling her in their warm embrace. She had finally found her family, she was home in their arms.

* * *

They stayed like that until the villagers started cheering praises to the Ghost of the Jungle. There was mention of a party to celebrate and a ceremony honoring her. Lea was whisked away before the rat or turtles could make any objection. They were told they were welcome to stay and join the party as honored guests of the Ghost of the Jungle. Of course they stayed, they had just gotten her back. They weren't going anywhere.

When they asked why they couldn't see her they were informed, she was being prepared for the ceremony. So they impatiently waited.

They had barely gotten to see her, much less talk to her. But what could be said? They wanted to know what had happened all those years ago, and they wanted to know how she had ended up in Panama. The biggest thing they wanted they wanted to know right now was who was Ronan? Why was he hunting her? But more than anything at the moment, they just wanted to see her. To be able to hold her in their arms, to know she was real and this wasn't a dream.

Splinter had known she was alive, he could always feel it. Angela had hoped that somehow she was still alive, but she had slowly been losing faith after all these years. And Donnie and Raph had lost hope a long time ago.

Now here she was. They had so many questions, but that would have to wait. The ceremony was about to start.

A crowd had gathered around a huge bonfire. It was strange to the turtles that they were welcomed into the group with open arms. Raph was getting extremely antsy and agitated. He was about to start yelling and questioning the locals where his long lost sister was they started banning on drums. The ceremony had started. A group of tribes women came out of a tent in rows of two. All were ornately dressed. When the last pair of women came out of the tent, they all separated. Forming a path from the tent to the bonfire. The two women on each side of the tent reached out, and pulled the flaps back to reveal Lea.

If Raph had thought she was gorgeous before, he had no words to describe her now. Her swords had been removed from her side, and she no longer wore the dark green cloak or her mask. Instead she now wore a white shawl that had been gently laid over her head, shoulders, and arms and it went down to the back of her knees. Blue, white, and silver paint covered her eyes instead of her mask as well as ran along her body. It was mostly blue and silver paint with only an accent of white around her eyes. She still had the chain around her waist and the tooth necklace dangled from her neck. Raph found her stunning.

She gracefully made her way out of the tent towards the bonfire with the other woman following behind her as the beating of the drums began to pick up. The ceremony began with the woman dancing around Lea and the bonfire. Then the woman began to back off, leaving Lea to dance around the fire. It was a hypnotic sight. She danced perfectly with the beat of the drums as the moon began to rise behind her. She continued dancing until the drums came to a stop. She knelt down on her knees where she stood. The village shaman came up beside her with a bowl in his hands. He began speaking in a strange tongue before he dipped his hand in the bowl, brought it back out, and sprinkled water over her head. Once that was done he told her to rise, "Tonight we honor you for your bravery."

Once the ceremony was completed, a feast was prepared and held in her honor. Everyone ate until their stomachs were full. Then the drums picked up once again and everyone began dancing. But Raph noticed Lea walk away. He followed her to a lake where she came to a stop at its edge, her back facing him.

All was quiet except for the faint sound of the drums. Raph didn't know what to say, he was never good with words. Thankfully he didn't have to as Lea began speaking. "It sure is a lovely night."

"Yes, it is."

"If you don't mind me asking," she turned her body halfway to look at him. She was the epitome of beauty with the blue and silver body paint, and the ceremonial white shawl. The moon shown off the water of the lake behind her. "What are you all doing in Panama?"

"We came out here for spiritual cleansing," Raph said quietly. "The real question is what are you doing in Panama? I had given up hoping you were alive and okay after so many years."

Lea sighed and turned back to the lake, "It's a long story. One I should probably wait to tell you all as one."

"Fine," Raph walked up to her side. "Then tell me about this hunter, Ronan."

"That's a long story as well, but the short story is he's been hunting me for the past five years. His full name is Ronan Tobias Jones. He's an American, but he's been down here ever since he found me. He can't seem to make up his mind whether he wants to keep me as some sort of pet or kill me and keep me as a trophy."

Raph growled under his breath, "Well he's not ever going to get you. Not when you have us."

Lea smiled weekly, "Thanks Raph." She leaned into him, and slowly put her arms around him. "It's so good to see you again."

* * *

The next morning, Lea walked into her families camp. "Hey guys."

"Lea!" Her siblings called out as they charged at her. She fell to the ground in a hug. She would have laughed if the air hadn't been knocked out of her. "You just disappeared last night. We weren't sure where to find you or if you would come back."

"Of course I came back. I just went to the place I call home around here to get some rest. I know I wouldn't have gotten that around her, the Embera people probably celebrated straight on into the early hours of morning."

"You would be right my child." Splinter said as he walked up to his children. He scrutinized his long lost daughter closely before turning around, and walking into the forest. "Come Leonarda."

Lea hesitantly followed, she had not gotten the chance to talk with her father the night before. Now that the time had come, she was a bundle of nerves.

They traveled to a small creek where Splinter proceeded to sit in the ground, "Please. Meditate with me." He could tell Leonarda was nervous, so he would not push her yet. They meditated for half an hour before Splinter finally spoke. "It is good to finally see you again my daughter. I had the feeling you were alive."

"Thank you father. It is good to see you again as well. I missed all of you."

"I missed you too my child. What are your plans now that we have been reunited? I don't think I need to tell you that Michelangela would hunt you down if you disappeared again." Splinter laughed, smiling lightly.

Lea smiled as well before frowning, "I don't know father. I realize the others are expecting me to come home with you when you head back. But this has been my home for years, how can I just leave it? Besides, I have to watch the tribes."

Splinter knew this might be a problem. "I suggest you talk with the tribes people. You seem to care about them very much. I will admit I want you to come home with us, but this is your choice. Just know that we cannot stay here. Eventually we will have to return to New York City. A lot has happened since you've been gone and the city needs us. I will accept your choice, no matter how hard it may be. Now go, talk to the tribe."

Lea got up and left.

* * *

Lea sat in front of the village elder. "Please, I don't know what to do. I have lived in Darien National Park many years now, and I have come to see it as my home. And I have taken up the responsibility of protecting the tribes. But I have found my family again. They wish for me to return to New York City with them. I just got them back, I don't want to lose them again. But if I go, then I am leaving the tribes defenseless. I just don't know what to do."

"Lea," The elder spoke. "You know how much we value family. Are you willing to tear yours apart?"

"No."

"Good, because I believe you should go with them. The tribes got along well enough before you came along, and we can do it again. Besides, it's not like you would have been around forever anyway. We have given you much over the years, but your family can give you more than we can. You should go, but know you always have a home here in Darien National Park."

Lea thought about what the elder said, before leaning forward to hug them. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, but you should probably let the other tribes know before you leave. The little ones will surely be upset if they don't get to see you one last time, and get to tell you goodbye."

"Understood." With that, Lea got up and made preparations to leave.

* * *

Angela paced back and forth, "She should have been back by now. What if she is not coming with us?!" Tears formed in her eyes, "We just got her back. We can't lose her again. She just has to come with us. she has too." She began sniffling.

Donnie pulled her in his arms. "It'll be okay Angie."

'No it won't' Angela thought.

Raph watched from the sideline. He desperately wanted Lea to come home. If she decided to stay...

Just then, Lea appeared in her regular garb with her blue mask, green cloak, tooth necklace, twin katana at her side, and her chain wrapped snugly around her waist. She carried a bag over her shoulder. "So," she asked. "Whose ready to go home?"

 **That's it for now. Please review. The next chapters will lead back into the episodes, but my own twists will be added to the story.**


	7. Chapter 7

**The turtles are back in New York. Lets see how Lea handles her new surroundings, and lets see how the others handle 'Following the Leader'. Also, I know this isn't there real ages but for this story I am saying that the turtles are 17. I do not own TMNT.**

Lea sat meditating alongside Master Splinter, waiting for the others to wake up for morning training. It had been a little over two weeks since they had made it back to New York. Lea was going through an adjustment period. She hadn't even gone up to the surface with her siblings yet on a patrol of the city. But she was trying to learn about the world she had not been apart of for eleven years now.

When they had first arrived at the lair, Lea was hit with a bout of nostalgia. This was home, even though she had not seen it in so many years she still recognized it. There was stuff in the living area and kitchen that hadn't been there before. In the living room their were couches, weirdly misshapen things called bean bags, machines where one could play games, a fake body hanging from a rope that Raph used a lot which was called a training dummy, a tire swing by the water entrance, and other things usually left there by Angela such as the piece of wood attached to wheels which she was later told was called a skateboard.

The thing that interested her the most in the living room was the square box with moving pictures. The television or TV for short. She had quickly learned how to use that, and hogged it a lot of the time unless Angela gave the what she called the 'puppy dog eyes'. She couldn't understand why, but she had a hard time telling Angela no when she made that face.

As for the kitchen, Lea was banned from entering the kitchen by herself until further notice. She had almost blown the place up several times apparently. The toaster would never be the same. She could only make tea without guidance, so until she had a better understanding of the kitchen she had someone hovering over her shoulder whenever she entered the room.

Lea was especially loving all the new food she was getting to try. Angela had nearly had a heart attack, and dropped to the floor when Lea asked her what pizza was. Angie had ordered a pizza then and there for her sister. After Lea had taken her first bite, she had consumed half the pizza by herself before anyone could stop her.

Lea had also absolutely fallen in love with Raphs pet turtle Spike, and would often be found petting or feeding him. Speaking of Raph, he had just walked in along with Donnie and Angela. It hadn't taken her long to figure out those two were mates the way they acted around each other.

When they entered, Lea got up. Ready for morning training. To her surprise she hadn't been that far behind in training, and soon caught up and surpassed her siblings. Raph was her biggest competition. But to be fair, she had been way ahead of them in training when they were little and she hadn't stopped training when she disappeared. She had honed in her skills. Lea could tell it bothered Raph though whenever she beat him. Not only that, but she had learned other fighting styles through the years that she had been gone, and she had no trouble with navigation. But she hadn't really used any other moves on her siblings yet. She was saving them for a rainy day.

Practice soon started, she had been paired with Raph. As they were fighting, her mind wandered. Splinter and her siblings had caught her up her up on everything that had happened around here. She remembered the Kraang from the time she had saved her siblings, but there was so much Donnie said that she didn't understand. Then there was the fact that the Shredder was back. Lea had only heard about him from stories Splinter had told her as a kid. Now he had attacked her family, and was hell bent on destroying her father even after he had ruined his life by getting his family killed when the women they had both been fighting for spurned his advances and chose Splinter instead. Not only that, but the Shredder had also drug his own daughter, Karai, into this feud.

There were others she had been warned about as well, but she didn't have time to think about them as Raph tried to tackle her. They fell to the floor in a scuffle before Lea straddled Raph and pinned him to the ground. They both just sat their for a moment, breathing in and out heavily. Splinter called a stop to the fighting, subsequently breaking the spell over the two.

They got in line with their brother and sister, waiting for orders from Master Splinter. Splinter had other plans, and he knew at least one of his children would not like it. "My children, as you know I never chose anyone of you to lead out of respect and honor for you sister in the hopes that she was still out there somewhere, and that one day she would eventually return. Well now she has, and with all of my children here I thought it was time to choose a leader." He saw all of his children sit up straighter. "So for the past few days, I have been watching each of you carefully. I know you three have been able to manage without anyone necessarily leading Donatello, Rapheal, and Michelangela... but, if it came down to it you would turn to Rapheal and do as he said. Unfortunately, that got you into sticky situations several times. You need someone who can lead with a level head. And I believe Leonarda is the best option. I hope you will treat her with the respect a leader deserves." Then Splinter walked into his room, signaling the end of the conversation and practice.

All was silent for a moment before Raph got up, and stormed off to his room. Angela and Donnie turned to look at Lea. She was sitting there, still as a statue and her mouth slightly open in shock.

"You okay Lea?" Donnie asked.

Lea jolted, then shook her head to clear it. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just give me a minute." She then proceeded to shoo Donnie and Angela away. Once they were gone, she turned to her fathers door. She stepped forward and knocked lightly.

"Come in my child." Splinter called out to his daughter. "What is it you wish to speak of Leonarda?" He asked.

"Father, are you sure about this? After all, I have only been back a few weeks and still don't know much about the outside world."

He just smiled gently at her. "Yes, I am sure Leonarda. I always knew you were a leader. Even when you were younger. The others need someone they can look up to, even Rapheal, though he will never admit it. Being a leader is not suited to him anyway. He's done it from time to time yes, but he panics with thoughts of whether his choices will get his brother and sister hurt. His panic causes him to make rash decisions, just as does his anger. You are more level headed than he is, and you also have experience with having to make tough choices over the year which have kept you alive all this time. I know you still haven't told us much about your time in the jungle, but I can tell you know it is not always easy making decisions."

"That may be true Sensei, but I only ever had to make decisions for myself. Not a team."

"You will learn my daughter, and your brothers and sister will help you learn the ways of the outside world. I have faith in you." He lightly squeezed her shoulder.

Lea took and deep breath in then let it out. "Thank you Sensei, I will do my best to make you proud."

* * *

Raph paced the length of his room, back and forth. He was angry and upset. It bothered him that Master Splinter had chosen Lea. He knew he wasn't cut out to be a leader, but he wasn't sure Lea was ready either. She had only been back a little more than two weeks, and she was still learning about their world. That was a lot to put on her shoulders in such a short time span.

He fell back onto his bed, and laid Spike on top of his plastron. That wasn't what was really bothering him though. Lea was. He sighed heavily and started talking to Spike like he often did about his family when he needed to vent. "I don't understand what's going on buddy. I can't help thinking about her at random times, and I'm always checking up on her to see what she's doing. And her smell is driving me crazy. I about lost it earlier in training when she pinned me. I admit she's hot, but there's something more I'm feeling towards her. I'm just not sure what it is, I've never been good with emotions. I just act first then ask questions later. But she's my sister, so I need to figure this out. And it's making me mad because I can't." Raph growled, unsure of himself. Spike just stood there, munching away on a piece of lettuce.

Raph smiled at his pet. "You don't care as long as she keeps petting or feeding you. She's gonna spoil you if I'm not careful."

Raph went on talking as Spike listened and ate his food without at care in the world. Raph finally had to get up, it would be dark soon and this would be Lea's first time up top on patrol with them. They would have to show her the ropes. Well, here goes nothing.

* * *

"Come on, Donnie. Don't get so bent out of shape about April. She'll come around." Raph tried to calm his brother down as they hunted for mutagen.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Donnie just felt really bad about what had happened, and April still hadn't tried to get in contact with them so they could apologize. He just didn't want to lose his best friend. April had helped him get up the courage to ask Angela to go out with him after all. He would have been lost without her.

"Who is April again?" Lea asked.

"She's the one who got Donnie and me together. She's also the one who refuses to talk to any of us right now cause we accidentally got her dad turned into a freaky bat mutant." Angie winced, before trying to bright the mood. "No sign of any mutagen, but you're not gonna believe what I found!" Angie pulled out a stuffed iguana, completely freaking Lea out. "An iguana wearing a top hat. Isn't that cool? I mean, why would you throw this out? 'Ello, gov'nor." She got out of the trashcan and went over to Donnie, trying to get a kiss. He took one whiff of her, and backed up. "I love you hon, but you are not getting a kiss until you take a bath." She tried to give him the puppy dog eyes, but he didn't notice as his scanner started going off.

Raph walked up to her, looking at the iguana. "You realize that could be a distant cousin? - And he's stuffed with sawdust."

"Eww, sick." She immediately through the iguana back in the trash.

"Quiet, guys. My ooze scanner is going crazy again. I told you a mutagen was close-by." Donnie said.

Raph nonchalantly leaned up against the bin. "You're scanner's about as useless as a trench coat on a turtle." Lea glared at Raph, who noticed and tried to backpedal. "But your cloak is awesome. Nothing against them."

Lea just rolled her eyes. She missed her cloak. She hadn't worn it since coming to New York, but she still wore her chain and necklace.

"This way." Donnie called out as his scanner directed him up.

Angie got to the roof first. "Found it!"

On another rooftop not to far away, Karai watched as Angela found the canister of mutagen. This worked perfectly for her plan. "So the turtles are hunting for the missing mutagen supply. This makes the game so much easier." But then Karai saw something she wasn't expecting, there was a fourth turtle with the group. "What? Another turtle? Who is she?" Karai took another look at the turtle, "Father will want to hear about this."

* * *

"We've been looking for mutagen for days now, guys. This is so boring. I'm gonna scream." And scream she did, but not very enthusiastically.

"Angie!" Raph yelled, trying to get her to stop.

"Okay, okay, we get it. We'll take a little break and do something fun." Lea was learning very fast that Angie did not have a very long attention span at times. But Lea took it in stride. Her siblings all seemed to like the idea.

She thought for a moment, pondering what to do. Then a game she used to play with the kids of the tribes back in Panama came to mind. It would also be a good way to get some training in without the others realizing it. "Alright, lets play a game. You see Dragon gate over there?"

"Uh-huh." "-Yeah."

Lea smiled. "I'm gonna defend it, like king of the mountain, okay? Now, the only way you can get past me is to use traditional close-quarters fighting. Got it?"

"Whatever you say, fearless leader." Lea wasn't sure what to make of some of the nicknames Raph had given her in the last few days as the new leader. Was he mocking her? She tried to shake it off, and went to get in position to defend the gate. This time would be different then when she play with the kids, and eventually let them win. Now she would give it her all. Make them work for it.

As she headed off, Raph called to Angela and Donnie. "Guys, I've got an idea." Pulling them close, he started whispering to them. He didn't know why exactly he was suggesting this. Maybe he wanted to get a rise out of Lea. He didn't know why, but he felt like picking a fight. Something he hadn't done since Lea had been home, and now he felt like he was ready to pop. He wanted a fight, and he didn't really care who he picked it with at the moment. His emotions over the past couple of weeks were getting the better of him. He wasn't even angry at Lea per say, he was more angry at himself for not understanding his emotions. So why was he trying to pick a fight with her?

Angie was first up as she plugged her music in. "What's up, ninja?"

Lea was really confused. "What are you doing, Angie?" Angela didn't bother to answer as she started dancing. Lea attacked, but Angela just used her crazy dance moves to fight back. "Real funny. Come on."

Angela did a flip and landed on the other side. "Made it. Ha! Whoo!"

Lea didn't say anything, just raised her brow ridge as she prepared for Donnie. Donnie's method was to use the throwing stars to distract her. "Ow! Are you kidding me, Donnie?"

"Ow! King of the mountain, baby! Ha!" Donnie yelled from the gate beside Angela. Again, this was not what she was expecting. It was not the fighting style she had suggested, but it had worked none the less.

Angie pulled Donnie in for a surprise kiss. When she let him up for air she said, "That's my ninja."

Lea turned to Raph, realizing this must have been his idea. He always did love disobeying the rules. "So, what's your trick gonna be?"

"Tricks? What are you guys talking about?" Then Raph did the unexpected, he away his weapon at her.

"Hey. Ninjas never throw their weapons." Then he charged her and rammed into her, throwing her off the rope and to the ground.

"All right!" "Whoo-hoo!" Three high-threed at their victory.

Lea was slightly angry, but she did her best to not let it show as she confronted Raph. "That was not what I had in mind. Why did you undermine my orders? It was supposed to be traditional close-quarters fighting. Not that."

Raph pointed at finger at her, angry he did not get more of a reaction. "You just want us to fight exactly like you fight, but the whole point is to make it to the Dragon gate any way we can, right?" He walked off with Donnie and Angela not far behind.

She hadn't been trying to make them fight like her, had she? As soon as they made it back, she went to the dojo to talk to Master Splinter. "I don't know, sensei. Maybe I'm not cut out for all this like you thought after all. I don't really think the guys respect me as their new leader. I mean, I've only been leader a few days and I'm already having issues with them following my orders. I just, I just want to be a good leader, you know? I want to do you proud."

"Leonarda, a true leader doesn't always impose his or her will but helps their followers flourish, grow."

Lea was quiet for a moment as she thought. "Maybe I shouldn't be leading the team."

"My daughter, how can your brothers and sister believe in you as leader if you do not believe in yourself?" Splinter left her with a lot to think about.

* * *

"Enough." Shredder called out as he watched his daughter fight and eventually fall to the new foot bots. "The Kraang swore that these new foot soldiers would be deadly. They were true to their word."

"I thought they'd finish me off, but you wouldn't let them do that, right, father?" Her father didn't answer her.

"I am leaving for Japan to take care of urgent business. You are not to make any moves against the turtles until I return." Then he started walking out of the room.

"Even though there is a fourth turtle now that we know nothing about?" Karai asked.

"Especially since there is a fourth turtle who showed up a out of the blue. When I asked the Kraang they informed me that there were originally four turtles, but they had believed one had perished eleven years ago. Apparently not, and now this turtle has found her way back to her retched family. She must be a great warrior to have survived all these years. So you will not engage until I have returned, and we have had a chance to study her." Shredder said, finality in his tone.

"But I-"

"Disobedience comes with a stiff penalty, child." Shredder turned once more and continued walking out of the room.

"Even for your daughter?"

Shredder never even turned around. "Especially for my daughter."

To bad Karai already had plans for the turtles.

* * *

Lea sat down thinking as Raph drove the Shellraiser since she didn't know how to drive yet. She must have had a stern look on her face because Angie sidled up next to her to talk. "You're not mad at us, are you, Lea? I'll give you Mutant Pus Monsters 23 - if you're not mad."

Lea pushed the comic away, not sure why Angie liked to read stuff like that. "I'm not mad. I just think you guys need to be a little better at following my orders."

"Aw, it's too bad I can't play my violin while I drive." Raph called from the front. Over the past few days his attitude towards her seemed to have only gotten worse, and it was really starting to get on Lea's nerves. "What's your problem lately, Raph? Are you jealous you're not leading the team?" That's the only thing Lea could think of that could be bothering him.

He didn't have a chance to respond as Donnie called out, "Stop the shellraiser. Scanner's picked up another mutagen canister." Then Raph slammed on the breaks, sending them all forward. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Lea asked Raph as she hopped out of the train car turned vehicle, not expecting an answer.

"We're close, guys. Signal's coming from the basement." Donnie said while fiddling with his scanner.

"Okay," Lea said. "Let's not make any sudden moves before I give the orders." But the others had already went on ahead. She sighed, not understanding why they wouldn't listen to her. Either way, she followed them down.

Angie once again was the first to spot the canister. "Hmm. Oh, yeah! Found it! Go, ninja. Go, ninja, go."

There was something that Lea didn't like about the situation. The canister was out in the open where anyone could have found it. So why had no one picked it up? Then it hit Lea. This was a trap. "Don't!" But it was to late, Angie had already picked up the canister. And their means of escape were cut off. "See? If you would listen to me-" Lea started to say, but never got the chance to finish as another voice cut her off.

"Easier than I thought." Lea turned, there stood another girl pointing a short sword at them.

"You must be Karai!" Lea said.

Karai had barely met the other turtle, and already this turtle was surprising her. She had realized this was a trap, and tried to get her sister to leave the canister alone. She was smart. And now Karai watched as the turtle looked at her with calculating eyes. This turtle was a foe worthy of her time, she would need to keep a close eye on this one.

Her new foot bots surrounded the four of them. "Ha, they're just foot soldiers. Won't even break a sweat." Raph said, before engaging in battle. Karai rolled her eyes, typical Raph.

The fight went on as Angela used her nunchucks to try to knock a foot bot out. With no success of coures. "They armored up or something?"

They were outnumbered. They needed a different strategy to take these guys out, possibly ambush. But to do that, they would need the cover the rooftops could provide. "Everybody, fall back!"

"What?" Raph obviously didn't like that idea. "We're running away?"

"It's not running. It's a tactical retreat. Move!"

Raph let his emotions get the better of him once again. "I don't care what Lea says. I don't run from the foot." He charged the foot bots, only to be laid flat out on his backside.

"This way!" Lea called. They took off with the foot bots right behind them. "Go, go, go!" Lea yelled as they scaled the building. They just needed to get to the outside.

Unfortunately one of the bots grabbed Angie by the ankle. "Off of me, you bug-eyed creep!" She yelled as she tried to kick him off. Lea saw what was happening. This was her family, her team to lead. She couldn't lose them. So Lea jumped down, and took the bot out, freeing Angela.

The foot bot hit the ground, and broke on impact. "Those guys are robots?" Donnie asked in wonder as he just hung there for a moment, looking down at the broken remains of the robot.

It didn't matter if they were robots, they were still a threat. "Move your shell, Donnie. Go!"

Raph made it to the top first, soon followed by Angie and Donnie. Raph called out to Lea. "Hurry, Lea!" She was so close. But the added weight of the foot bots were weighing her down, and the wire cord snapped. Lea fell back into the darkness of the building. "Lea!"

Raph could have kicked himself. "She's gone, and it's all my fault."

Back at the lair, the three turtles tried to figure out what to do next. They had been fine without a leader in the past, but now they weren't sure what to do. "We didn't follow her lead." Donnie reminded them. If only they had. She was their leader now, and they had failed to be a team for her. Now she was in Karai's clutches.

"How are we gonna explain this to Master Splinter?"

At that exact moment Splinter walked into the room. "Explain what to me, Michelangela?"

"It's Lea, sensei. Karai captured her." Raph said forlornly.

"Hmm. I knew it would come to this eventually." Splinter said.

"Come to what, sensei?" Donnie asked out of curiosity.

"Karai wants to take revenge. She believes that I took one of her loved ones away from her."

"But it's not true, right?" Angela asked, hoping beyond all hope that it wasn't true.

Splintered answered, "It is very much the opposite of what she thinks. Find Leonarda. That is what is important right now. Rescue your sister."

* * *

"You know I bet I'd make a small fortune if I sold you to a science lab. Could you imagine the press? 'Talking ninja turtle found in sewer.'"

Lea couldn't believe the situation she was now in, trapped in a cage and hanging from a ceiling at the mercy of this girl who happened to be the enemies daughter. "Sweet. Captured and now totally humiliated. Awesome day, Lea. Awesome day."

"So your name is Lea?" Karai asked, wondering if she could get a conversation out of this turtle. She wanted to learn more about her.

"Leonarda or Lea for short, yes." Lea could see this girl was curious about her. Maybe she could use this to her advantage. Maybe she could eventually get Karai on their side, or to at least stop fighting along with her father. It was worth a try, so she would talk to this kunoichi.

"It's strange," Karai said coyly. "I've known the other turtles for quite a while now, and then you just show up out of the blue."

"I got lost after saving my siblings from the Kraang when I was younger. I was living on my own until the others found me a few weeks ago."

"You must have been really far away for it to have taken so long for you to find each other again." Then Karai took notice of a necklace the turtle was fiddling with. It had a large tooth in the center. "My, that sure is a big tooth on that necklace. What did it come from?"

As soon as she realized she had been fiddling with her necklace Lea stopped. "It's a jaguar tooth, from a black jaguar that tried to eat me as its lunch when I was eight. So I returned the favor instead."

Karai was shocked to say the least, "My my, taking on a black jaguar and winning at the age of eight. That's quite a feat."

This wasn't one of Lea's favorite memories to recall, but this was the first time she met the Embera tribes people. "Well I didn't come out unscathed. I probably would have died if some people hadn't seen me fight the predator off. They took me in, and healed me."

Karai pretended to think for a moment. "Then that means you must have ended up somewhere down south. South or Central America maybe?"

"Jaguars are also known to be found in the southern most states of the U.S. as well from time to time you know." Lea skirted the question. She didn't see any reason to let Karai know exactly where she had been.

"True, but that is a much smaller area and it is less likely to find a jaguar." Karai shook her head, she was getting off track. "But anyway, you can thank your siblings for me capturing you. They betrayed my trust, and now you shall all pay the price." She snapped her fingers, and the foot bots came forward. "Don't you love it? My new robotic Foot Bots follow my orders to a 'T.' No arguing, no prodding. They do whatever I want. Cool, right?"

"Yeah, convenient. Nice." Lea just saw this as a form of cheating. Karai could wear her down with these foot bots before she came in for the final blow.

"I've been teaching the Foot Bots new skills, but now I'm turning the training over to someone new." Karia threw the kunai she had been twilring at the rope securing Lea's cage to the ceiling. The cage and Lea fell to the floor. "Foot Bots," Karai cried as she threw Lea's katana towards her. "De-shell her."

Lea was in for the fight of her life. She seemed to be doing pretty well, but then the robots just seemed to be getting better. Adapting. "You spend years learning a fighting style," Karai said before continuing, "and my robots learn it in seconds from you. Fighting just improves their skills."

Lea was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If she fought she was only improving the robots fighting skills, but if she didn't fight she would die. "Karai!" She shouted in frustration as she was brought to the floor.

Karai went off on a tangent, "I never got to know my mother because your rodent master took her away from me."

"Splinter?" Lea got up, and ran at the girl. "That's a lie!" Lea may not know everything about her family after not being around them for so long, but she was positive her father would not leave a child to grow up without her mother. Especially after knowing the pain of losing his own wife and daughter.

"Get her out of my sight."

"Karai, listen to me." Lea called out, desperate to make the girl understand. "Splinter would never hurt your mother."

For a moment, it seemed like Karai was actually listening to her before she walked away.

* * *

"Can't sneak in. Security camera." Donnie pointed out.

"No sweat. I got this." Raph said, and pulls a pigeon from behind his back.

"Cool," Angela said. "How'd you do that?"

Raph didn't answer. He just put his finger to his mouth, ran them across, and made the motion of throwing away an imaginary key. Donnie meanwhile looked skeptical. "It's not just one. The entire roof is bracketed by surveillance." One pigeon soon turned into many, and they were able to sneak by.

Lea saw them coming to her rescue. She shook her head, and started trying to warn them. Her words only came out as muffled sounds.

"We can't understand what you're trying to say, Lea." Donnie said as he pulled the tape from her mouth. As soon as it was removed she yelled, "It's a trap!"

"Nice, Lea. You could've said something." Lea just rolled her eyes at her sister.

"You got two choices, sweetheart." Raph said as he cut Lea loose. "Let us go, or walk away from this inside a sandwich bag."

"Sorry, Raphael. Can't let you go. It's not really that personal with the rest of you turtles. - I just need you for bait."

"She wants Splinter." Lea explained.

"Your sensei will eventually track you here, and when he shows up, Splinter will know what it's like to truly suffer." Then Karai ordered her foot bots, "Restrain them."

The fight was on. "Let's smash some robots." Raph said with glee.

"They're only 1000 time better at fighting than regular Foot." Donnie said as the foot bots he was fighting quickly learned and adapted. The fight had barely begun, and it was quickly going down hill as the others fought like Lea had been wanting them to earlier that day.

"My Foot Bots know every move, every skill, every attack." Karai said calmly from her seat, feeling assured in her victory.

"We're out of real estate." Donnie said nervously.

Lea stepped in front of her siblings, making sure the foot bots were focused on her. "If I order you to run away, will you guys listen this time?"

"Heck yeah. And we can still call it a tactical retreat if you want." Angie said. Raph stilled didn't seem to keen on the idea, but he listened this time as they made their way to the roof.

"Foot Bots, don't let them escape." Karai called out. She couldn't just let them get away that easy.

"All our moves are useless." Raph said as they continued to run.

"They know every move I can make." Lea warned her siblings. "My fighting style, skills. Every- wait a sec." An idea came to her. She hadn't used _every_ fighting style she knew. She just had to switch things up, like her siblings had done to her at Dragon's Gate. "Remember king of the mountain?"

"Yeah, sure." "What about it?"

They made it to a playground where Lea proceeded to whoop and holler before taking a page out of Raph's book, and threw her weapon. One of the robots went down.

"Oh, I get what you're saying: be unpredictable. Do our thing." Donnie calculated as he ran. He turned back to the foot bots, and used the same move he had used on Lea on them. Only this time, with the intent to cause damage. Three of the foot bots fell. "Didn't see that coming, did you?"

The turtles started doing things they wouldn't normally do in their everyday fighting, and the tides began to change in their favor. "I never had so much fun following orders before." Raph said to Lea. He saw her as more than just someone to boss him around in that moment, and he couldn't helping smiling at her.

"We're even." She smiled back, glad that they finally seemed to be getting along for a moment. She had to thank him later for pushing and testing her, otherwise she wouldn't have come up with this. Maybe him being hard on her wasn't such a bad thing. It made her think outside the box. "I've never had so much fun giving them."

That was all they had time for at the moment as Karai attacked her. "You might as well give up now. The more you fight those Foot Bots, the more they adapt."

"Your robots may know my moves, but you don't." Lea threw her weapon once more, this time at Karai.

She blocked it. "Fool. A ninja never throws away their weapon."

"That's the point." Lea said through gritted teeth.

This turtle, Lea, just kept surprising her. Karai jumped off the room, and made her way towards the Dragon's Gate. "Think you've won?" Karai managed to through Lea off balance, and she tumbled down the gate before she was able to grab a hold of the edge. Karai was getting frustrated. This turtle just didn't give up. "Fall!" She shouted as she threw a couple of throwing stars, and she followed close behind them.

Lea used her katana to secure herself on the underside of the gate before she made her way behind Karai and jumped her. Karai fell off the gate, and landed with a hard smack on the ground. Lea jump to the ground, and landed in front of her with her sword at the ready. "Shredder is lying to you. Splinter would never hurt an innocent." Lea gave Karai a moment to let that sink in. Then she put her blade to Karai's throat, "I'm warning you now Karai, stay away from my siblings and my sensei. Understood?" Lea glared at her for a moment, trying to let her know there would be consequences if she didn't. She lowered her blade, before stowing it away and headed off to find her family. "Believe me, Karai."

Karai saw left standing there, dumbfounded. Lea's words had hit its mark, and got Karai thinking. The Hamato clan had always been revered for their honor. So would Hamato Yoshi really disgrace his clan and family name by taking the life of a defenseless mother?

* * *

Lea had found her brothers and sister, and had gotten them back to the lair safely. She had called her whole family into the living room so she could tell them what she had told Karai about herself. If she could talk about that stuff with her enemy, she should at the very least be able to tell her family about the origins of her necklace. But to do that she had to start at the beginning. She explained how she had accidentally wound up on a boat after saving her brothers and sister. Then how she had snuck away as soon as she could.

"By the time I came too, the crate I was in was being unloaded from the ship. I tried to sneak out, but there was to much activity. By the time I actually had a chance to sneak away the crate had been loaded in the back of a truck with other boxes stacked on top of mine. I was stuck until they were removed. When my crate was finally unloaded, I took the first chance I could to escape before I was discovered. I had somehow ended up in Boquete, Panama. I didn't know how to navigate back then, and I wasn't sure where Panama was in correlation to New York. So I picked a direction a started walking, trying to find my way back home. Unfortunately, I had chosen the wrong direction. I was going south. I made it all the way to somewhere in Columbia before I realized I was going the wrong way, and had to turn around. I made it back into Panama's Darien National Park before I had trouble. As I was walking, I stepped on a foot-hold trap."

At this she had to stop her story for a moment as Donnie went into panic mode. He grabbed her right leg and removed the wrappings she always wore, inspecting the old scar a few inches above her ankle. When he deemed there seemed to be no lasting side effects from the injury, he let her continue her story.

"It was extremely painful, but I managed to open the trap enough to slip my leg out. I tried to keep going, but my injured leg slowed me down. I'm guessing a black jaguar could smell my injury because it wasn't to long afterwards that one jumped out of the trees and attacked me. I eventually had to kill it to get it to stop attacking. But I was severely injured, and passed out not long after. I did not know it at the time, but some of the Embera tribesman saw me kill the jaguar. They had been out hunting it because it had been going after their livestock and food supply. They decided they had to kill it after it had attacked one of the children. So they saw me finish it off, and they took me back to the village to care for my wounds. That is when they came to believe I was sent by gods as a protector of nature and humanity. They threw a feast in my honor with the jaguar as the main course, and made me this necklace out of one of the jaguar's teeth. But I was more injured than I realized, it took six months for me to fully recover and I got sick several times due to infections. During my time there I came to see the jungle as my home and became protective of the surrounding tribes. I knew my chances of ever finding you guys again were slim. So after two years of trying to find my way home and six months of recovery after, I decided to stay. And that's where you found me."

After she finished her story her family was a little shocked, but they were glad she had told them. Splinter headed back to the dojo to meditate on what she had told him while her siblings began playing what she believed was called a pinball machine.

"Whoo! Watch me now. Flip, flip. Bing, bing, zat. Yeah. You see that? New high score, dudes." Angie said.

"Lea, you want to play next?" Donnie asked.

"Nah, go ahead, guys. I'm cool." She walked off with Raph doing the same. Suddenly, in a very unRaph like behavior, he pulled her into a hug. "It's good to have you back, Lea. I mean it, sis. I don't think I could have handled it if something had happened to you." To prove his point he squeezed her a little tighter before seemingly realizing what he was doing, and let her go, trying to play it off.

Either way, Lea appreciated the gesture, and gave him a quick hug back before walking away. "Thanks, Raph."

Then she made her way to the dojo, and silently sat down next to Splinter. "I'm sorry to bother you, Master Splinter. I need to ask you some questions... about Karai."

Splinter stood up, facing away from Lea. "It is late, Leonarda. These questions will have to wait for another time."

But she was not put out so easily. "She said you took her mother away from her. I know it's not true, right?"

"No, it is not true, but the truth is almost as difficult." He tried walking away.

"Please, sensei." Lea pleaded with her father. "Tell me. Trust me."

Finally Splinter faced her, "Karai... is my daughter."

* * *

Ronan was becoming increasingly impatient. He had set up sensors around the Embera village, waiting for the Ghost of the Jungle to show herself. He knew she checked up on all the villages at least once a week, if not more. So where was she? It had been two and a half weeks, and still no sign of her. He was fed up with waiting.

As nightfall hit, he snuck his way into the elders tent. If anyone knew where the Ghost of the Jungle had gotten off to it would be her. He placed one hand over her mouth, and place the other with a knife at the old woman's neck. She startled awake to find him leaning over her.

"I'll make this very simple." He whispered in her ear. "Where is the Ghost of the Jungle?"

 **That's it for now. Please review. Wow, longest chapter yet.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I know this isn't there real ages but for this story I am saying that the turtles are 17. I do not own TMNT.**

 **This chapter takes place during the episode Target: April O'Neil.**

Lea leaned back against the couch feeding Spike as she watched TV with Angela. Raph was behind them punching away at the training dummy, and Donnie was no where to be found. Supposedly he was out secretly checking in on April.

And thanks to Donnie's friend the Pulverizer, who Angie renamed Mutagen Man, escaping to hunt down the girl in the hopes that she would be his friend, Lea now knew what April looked like. Donnie had also given Lea her very own T-phone after the incident since they realized she couldn't split up to search for the escaped cylinder of gelatinous mass because if she found him she would have had no way to contact them for backup.

Lea's musings were interrupted when Spike let out a small noise of appreciation for the snack. Picking the turtle up, Lea smiled at the little guy before pressing her snout against his and returning a little hum. She just couldn't help herself. She found the little guy to be adorable.

As he saw this, Raph could not understand the envy he was feeling towards his pet for getting Lea's attention. Walking up behind the couch he said, "Alright that's enough. You're spoiling him." Before he took Spike away from Lea, who gave him an evil glare. He pretended not to notice as he took Spike back to his room.

With Raph no longer in her line of sight, Lea turned back towards the TV. 'Just what is his problem?' Lea thought to herself as she tried to hold in a small growl. As time went by, things between her and Raph seemed to get more heated. They had even had a yelling match not to long ago when Angie had gotten shell acne after rubbing a bad batch of Donnie's retro-mutagen on her face.

Boy, Donnie had sure not been happy with his mate. During their little adventure all across town to find a centrifuge to make the cure for Angie, Lea had been introduced to three more of their enemies she had heard about. Baxter Stockman, Dogpound (later renamed Rahzar after being double mutated), and fishface. All their reactions to a forth turtle had been priceless.

But Lea was getting off track. Her and Raph had gotten into a yelling match after Dogpound got away with Baxter Stockman and the centrifuge, and they were trying to figure out where they could have gone. If Donnie had not realized his mate had left to get the centrifuge on her own and drew their attention to the fact, they probably would have kept on arguing.

Just thinking about Raph and his arrogant attitude made her grumble. She didn't realize it had been out loud until she heard Angie giggling. Looking at her sister she said, "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing," Angie said as she tried to suppress her giggles. She had been watching Raph and Lea, and she was pretty sure she knew what the problem was between those two. Angie was positive Raph liked Lea, but Raph, being Raph, didn't understand his own emotions very well and if he did realize them than he was trying to deny it. Because of this he was picking fights with Lea, and then they both would get riled up when the other wouldn't back down. The question that remained though in Angie's head was, 'did Lea like Raph back?'

* * *

"Not bad." Karai said as she went behind her fathers back. She had said she would have no more dealings with the Kraang until Shredder's return, yet here she was examining their new weapon. "How soon until it's online?"

"By Kraang's calculations, nine Earth hour units before-"

"Nine hours?" Karai interrupted the Kraang. "I want to test it on someone now! And I've got the perfect target too, April O'Neil."

All the Kraang froze before turning to stare at her.

Karai knew she had hit her mark. She smirked, "Is there a problem with that?"

"Kraang sees no foreseeable problem, - one called Karai." It was easy to tell the Kraang was very nervous about that order.

"Good." Karai responded. "Now, let's speed up the process. You don't want to keep the Shredder waiting, now, do you?"

* * *

"I know you're following me." April called out to the alleyway. Even though she couldn't see them, she had sensed them following her for the last couple of blocks. "Come out so I can see you!" When no one headed her warning she threw her Tessen. It hit it's mark, and laid the person out where she could see them.

"Donnie?" she asked.

Donnie just tried to play it off that he had been following her. "Funny us both passing through this shady back alley at the same exact time, huh? So, um, h-how have you been?" He handed her back her Tessen as he asked nervously.

April was not happy to see him, and she made it perfectly clear. "Oh, you know, the usual. Homework, chess club, dealing with a father who turned into a homicidal mutant bat." She glared at him.

"April, it wasn't completely our fault." Donnie gulped. They really hadn't meant for this to happen. If only he could explain the situation to April without her blocking his words out. He had to at least try. He wanted his friend back, and he wanted to introduce her to Lea. "But I'm sorry that -"

She cut him off, "Not as sorry as I am! I want to be left alone, Donnie. No more talking mutants in my life. I never want to see you again!" She turned to walk off, but not before Donnie called out to her one last time.

"April? Some things are just beyond our control."

April paused, but kept walking. She didn't know why, but she had the feeling she was still being watched. She brushed it off thinking it was Donnie.

* * *

Ronan watched as the purple banded turtle followed the red headed girl down the street. He had barely made it back to the states, and already he had spotted one of the turtles. Just not the one he wanted. But he continued to watch as the turtle conversed with the girl. After all, it wouldn't hurt to study the other turtles as well seeing they probably wouldn't let him take the Ghost of the Jungle without a fight.

He was glad to be back in the states for the first time in five years. But seeing as he had been away so long, he had no place to stay. Thankfully, he had relatives in New York who would hopefully let him crash until he found a place of his own. Until then, he would just study and observe the turtles. Learn their habits and hangouts. He smiled, he would get her this time. I'm coming for you Lea.

* * *

"I'll be in my lab." Donnie said to his family. He had just returned home, and he didn't feel like talking after his confrontation with April. In reality he just wanted to cuddle with his mate, but she would realize something was bothering him. So his only other option was the lab. He heard a faint noise as soon as he walked in. He looked up to see the Kraang communicator going crazy.

"Oh, no. The Kraang communicator." He ran to it, and picked it up. "How long's it been going off? Guys, we have a problem!"

With that they were headed off in the Shellraiser. Lea was excited. She had been practicing her driving, and now she actually got to test out her skills behind the wheel. Although Lea was slightly nervous. This would be her first encounter with the Kraang in eleven years since she was little more than a turtle tot the last time she had faced them.

"From what I could translate from the orb," Donnie started. "It seems the Kraang are building some kind of advanced heavy weaponry."

"Any guess what it could be?" Lea asked.

"Ooh! Lasers disguised as burritos! - Yes! It all makes sense now." Angie said.

Lea just rolled her eyes. She did not understand what went through her sister's head sometimes. And to be quite honest, she wasn't sure she wanted to find out.

"It does make sense." Lea her Raph state to Angie. "If you have the brain of an avocado!"

'Ugh there he goes again.' "All right, guys, stay focused. We find the weapon, and we destroy it."

As Lea kept her focus on the road she heard Donnie whisper to Angie, "Don't worry. I will still love you even if you do have the brain of an avocado." Lea couldn't help but smile. Those two were so cute together. She just had one question, "What's an avocado?"

Her siblings just gave each other looks behind her back. Raph closed his eyes, and with a small smile on his face shook his head. She was hopeless. Still so much to learn.

* * *

"Red?" Casey called out when he realized April was there. Apparently she had been watching him practice his hockey for some time. "Ah, I miss a study session again?"

"No, I'm just here to hang out."

That got a smile out of the boy. "With the infamous Casey Jones?"

"Unless you only like me for my trigonometry." She said.

Casey really liked her. He wanted to get to know her better. "So what's your deal? Never see you hanging out with anybody. - Antisocial much?"

"Not really. I-I had three really close friends." She got a down look on her face. "I don't talk to them anymore."

"It happens." Casey understood completely. "Me and my best friend Nick were up against Troma town in last year's playoffs, right? He came up behind me just as I was about to sink the winning goal, and wham! Smacked his helmet straight off. Swollen face, split lip my best friend since second grade. Never spoke to me again."

"Oh, but it's not like you meant it." April said, trying to defend Casey.

"Right." Casey said sadly. "Some stuff is just beyond our control."

April felt a pang in her chest. Donnie had said the same thing. It got her thinking, maybe she was being to harsh on the turtles.

"Give me a sec to grab my gear." Casey said as he made his way off the ice. "We can get something to eat. Pizza."

Pizza. That one little word reminded her so much of Raph, Angie, and Donnie. She pulled out her T-Phone which she had kept off all this time, and opened it to a picture of her best friend. "Donnie."

She was thinking about giving him a call when she was distracted by a loud bang. When she looked up she saw something she wanted to see even less than her turtle friends. "Foot soldiers?"

She backed up as they began to advance on her. What were they doing here? What did they want with her? She pulled out her Tessen, and defended herself as best she could. She thought she was doing a decent job until weapons sprung out from the soldiers backs. "Uh, didn't you guys use to be human?" She questioned as she flipped into the ice rink, and pushed off against the wall. Barely missing a stab to the knee.

The foot bots followed her onto the ice. And it didn't take them long to get their barrings. They almost had her. "Yo! If there's one thing Casey Jones has, - it's crackerjack timing." Casey looked like he was ready to bash some heads in.

"Casey, run!" April called out.

"What, so you get all the fun?" Casey asked as he jumped over the wall. "I got 'em! You go!"

"No, I got 'em. You go!" She yelled back.

More foot bots came as the two teens continued to argue. It didn't stop until April ran out of the stadium, trying to get the bots to follow here and leave Casey alone. "Hey, Footbots! You want me? Come and get me!"

Sadly, only half of the foot bots followed. Oh well, she would do what she could. Then she would go back for Casey. She just hoped he would be okay until then.

* * *

The turtles had made it into the base with no problems. Lea was relieved, the Kraang didn't seem to be much of a threat. She changed her mind though when they got a good look at the base.

"I'm guessing we just found the secret weapon." Donnie said as they surveyed the dangerous looking humanoid piece of weaponry.

"All right, Donnie, we need you to shut that thing down." Lea said.

"No problem." He said as he got up, ready to take that thing out of commission. But then his T-Phone started going off.

Angie came up behind Donnie. "Sweetie, you're vibrating."

Donnie took his T-Phone out. "It's April! Ahem. Hi, this is Donay Diner Dono Dano Dinomi-" He blubbered as he tried to get his name out. Raph, Angie, and Lea listened in as best they could.

"Donnie," April called out. Interrupting him. "Remember how you said sometimes things are out of our control? You were right. Aah! Things are really out of control right now!"

"She needs me, guys. I gotta go!" He told them, then placed the phone back up to his ear to talk to April. "Hold on, April! I'll be right there!"

"Donnie, we need your help." Lea called out as Donnie ran off. It was to late though, he was already gone.

"He ditched us?" Raph asked.

"More importantly," Angie growled quietly as she squeezed her nunchucks. "Did he just ditch me? Cause if he did, he is so not getting to sleep in the same room as me tonight. Even if it is April."

Just then, an alarm started blaring. "Alerting of one known as the intruder."

The Kraang opened fire on them. "Turtles, attack!" Lea yelled as she charged forward.

* * *

"Donnie!" April cried in delight. Never had she been so happy to see him. "Ugh, took you long enough."

"I'm sorry." He said as he waved his staff around. Trying to get the robot head to come off his blade. "I had to figure out your coordinates with the T-Phone. Wow!" He probably would have continued talking if a throwing star had not come their way. Then Karai showed up with more foot bots, dropping from the edge of a nearby building. "Karai."

"Well, I was hoping for all the turtles to see this." She said, slightly disappointed. "But I guess one's good enough. Your rat master took away someone I cared about. So I'm returning the favor." She said before attacking.

* * *

They had just finished off the last Kraang, and were now starring at the weapon. Lea wasn't sure how they were going to dismantle it without Donnie. "Whoa, that thing is awesome! In an evil kind of way." Angie said while rubbing the back of her neck as she received a glare from Raph.

There was a light beeping noise, then the robots eyes began glowing pink as the cables connecting to the robot fell away. "Um, guys." Lea said, slightly nervous. "Giant freaking robo-ninja just finished charging."

Angie took a look at the robot. "You don't look so tough." As she said this, she charged at the robot. Only for it to throw her to the side with a whip.

"Angie!" Raph called out to his sister, before dodging out of the way as the robot shot eye lazers at him. Both Raph and Lea moved in to attack. They weren't having much luck. At one point Raph was thrown off the robot's back.

Lea tried to evade an attack from the robot by jumping back. But as she was in the air, the robot took the opportunity to wrap the whip around her before slamming her to the floor. "Let me go!" Lea yelled and struggled as the machine brought her closer. The thing started beeping, and it's eyes began glowing. It was going to finish her off. Lea knew she couldn't escape in time, so she closed her eyes and tensed in preparation for her end.

But then she heard Raph call out her name, "Lea!" The next thing she knew, Raph was above her. Covering her body with his. What was he doing?!

Before she could react though, the beeping had stopped. "Subroutine program taking over. Target April O'Neil located." The robot retracted the whip, and flew off. Leaving her and Raph on the floor in a tangled mass.

When Raph realized the threat was gone, he raised himself up onto his elbows and looked down at Lea. Neither one of them moved. "Raph?" Lea said nervously. Raph was mere inches above her, just staring down at her.

"Come on guys!" Angie yelled at them. Though she was hoping for something like this to happen, now was not the time. "You can continue this some other time. It's going after April!"

That snapped Lea out of it, but Raph hadn't seemed to have heard as he continued to just sit there. Lea blushed slightly before shoving Raph off of her. They needed to get moving. They had to find April and Donnie.

* * *

"Stay away from April!" Donnie yelled, trying to protect his best friend.

"Footbots, keep the turtle busy." Karai said as the foot bots overwhelmed Donnie, giving her an opening to get to April. "This is between us girls."

Karai quickly brought April to the ground with a hard flip. April threw her Tessen, hoping to get in a hit. "Your skills are weak, April." Karai taunted. "I've had years of training. - Oh!" Karai yelled out as the Tessen came back around and hit her.

April easily caught her weapon, and used it in her own taunt against Karari. Making it seem like she was completely calm. "You talk too much."

Karai becoming angry quickly disarmed April, and charged at her. Only for her strike to be blocked by Donnie's staff. "You're not gonna touch her!" Donnie glared at Karai before bombarding her with his own attack. Donnie had just gotten her to the ground when the Kraang weapon landed.

"Um, Donnie, I'm thinking retreat." April said.

Karai back flipped off the ground, and made her way to the robots side. "Like my new little toy?" Karai asked, not really expecting an answer. "Robot, eliminate the girl."

The robot zeroed in on April and Donnie. Donnie tried to protect his friend, but the robot knocked him aside and pulled April in using the whip. "Let me go!" April yelled as the robot seemed to be getting ready to fire. Then the unexpected happened. "System override. Do not destroy April O'Neil. Capture for the Kraang."

"What?" Karai yelled in outrage before attacking the robot as it tried to fly off. She brought it down, but at a cost.

"Threat detected." It said as it turned on her. "Eliminate threat."

"You okay?" Donnie asked as he helped April up.

"For once, I'm actually glad the Kraang want to kidnap me."

As the robot took down Karai, and turned back to them April heard what sounded like the Shellraiser coming their way. And she was right. It swung around the corner, and rammed right into the robot, sending it into the wall.

Angie was at the back, manning the manhole cover blaster. "Oh, yeah! Firing manhole covers! Eat it, Chrome dome!" Angie yelled as she fired manhole covers. Angie got a few hits in before Chrome Dome, as Angie stated, pulled Angie off the Shellraiser with his whip. He then proceeded to grab the Shellraiser, and threw it on its side.

"Aw, I just waxed her, too." Raph stated. Lea just rolled her eyes at him. They turned around as Donnie, Angie, and April came up behind them to watch Karai fight off the robot. It took April a moment to realize there was another turtle. "Uh, who's that?" She asked Donnie and Angie.

Angie smile at April, "Oh that's Lea."

Donnie picked up where Angie left off, "She's our sister."

April stood there in shock for a moment. She knew that there had been a fourth turtle. Donnie and Angie had talked about her all the time, and she had heard several stories from Master Splinter. But April had never thought she would get to meet her since she had been missing for eleven years. "Wait, your sister? As in, your sister sister? The one who had been missing for eleven years? That sister!."

No one answered her as Lea had started talking. "Guy, I think I know how we can take that thing down."

Taking a closer look, Donnie was what Lea had. There was a gash which was emitting sparks from the robots back. "Oh I see. I got this then!"

"Oh, are you on this team?" Lea said as she lightly reprimanded her brother for leaving them before.

"Yeah, way to ditch us, dude." Raph added.

"Yeah, guess who won't be sleeping with me tonight." Angie gave her mate a look.

"Go easy on him, guys." April called out. Slightly still in shock that Lea, the missing fourth turtle, was there and alive. "If it wasn't for Donnie, I would have ugh!" She didn't get to finish as she was knocked over by Karai.

"I don't need that stupid robot to finish you."

"April!" Donnie called out.

"I'll help April." Lea said as she ran back. She would have let Donnie handle it, but he was their best bet against that robot. "You guys take down -"

"Chrome dome!" Angie yelled out her name for the robot.

"Sure Angie!" Lea called back as she continued to make her way towards April and Karai. "Whatever you wanna call it."

Angie and Raph used her nunchucks to keep Chrome Dome still as Donnie removed the back pannel and removed some wiring. The robot went on the fritz, and its top half began rotating in a circle, "Error, error." Angie, Donnie, and Raph screamed as they got spun around in a circle. Eventually Raph and Angie flew off, leaving Donnie as the sole turtle holding on for dear life.

Angie noticed the robots sword had landed next to her. She grabbed it, and charged at Chrome Dome. She ended up finishing the robot as she stabbed it through the chest with its own sword.

Meanwhile April and Lea fought together to bring down Karai. "It's over, Karai." Lea said as she level her katana at the girl.

"For now." Karai said as she jumped up, and threw a smoke bomb to cover her escape.

"That wasn't too difficult." April said said as Lea helped her to her feet.

"Easy does it, April. It's over now."

"I just need to catch my breath." She said as the others made their way over to check on her. "Thanks, guys. I just wanted to say- Oh, my gosh! I forgot about Casey!"

All four turtles gave her a strange look as she ran off. "That's what she wanted to say?" Donnie asked questioningly.

Lea just giggle lightly, "Come on guys. Let's go home."

* * *

Ronan was impressed. He had watched the fight from afar. It was different to see the Ghost of the Jungle working with others as a team seeing as she had worked alone back in Panama. Yet alone or with others, she was still a deadly force to be reckoned with. And now, not only was she part of a team, but she seemed to be the leader! That just made her that much more of a prize in Ronan's eyes. It was good to finally see her again after all these weeks. He couldn't wait to go after her.

But for now, he needed a place to crash. He picked up his phone, and dialed a number he hadn't used in quite some time. "Hey cousin," he said when his call was answered. "How are you, your sister, and my favorite uncle doing?" He said jokingly.

A young male voice on the other end of the line answered, "He's your only uncle, Ronan. But we're all doing good. How about you? It's great to hear from you. What's it been? A couple years since we last heard from you?"

"Five, but I'm doing good as well. Hey listen, I just recently came back to town and looking for a place to crash until I can find my own place. Would you mind letting me stay with you guys until I get my own place?"

"Not at all man. And I'm sure my dad will be okay with it. I'm not there right now, but feel free to stop on by."

"Thanks man, you're the best." Ronan replied. Everything was working out perfectly.

"No problem cousin. I'll get there as soon as I can."

"Alright, see you soon Casey." Ronan hung up the phone, and made his way to his cousins and uncle's apartment.

* * *

April made her way into the lair to find Raph, Donnie, and Angie in the living room. There was no sign of Lea. "Hey, guys."

Donnie was the first to notice her. "April." They all stood up as he said this.

"You're back!" Raph looked surprised.

"What up?" Angie said with a welcoming smile.

Master Splinter came out to great her as well. "Hmm, it is very good to see you, April."

April smiled. "I missed you, Master Splinter. I hope we can start training again soon."

"Of course. Whenever you wish." Master Splinter said before giving her a slight bow, which she returned.

Then she turned to face the turtles again. "I never got a chance to tell you guys that I'm sorry for everything."

Donnie looked shocked. Why was she apologizing? She hadn't done anything wrong. And he said as much, "You're sorry? But we were the ones that screwed up."

"It was an accident, and more importantly, you're my friends. I don't ever want to hold a grudge ever again." She responded.

Angie jumped in front of her. "You da best, April. To mark this day, I offer you the slice of eternal reunion." Angie said as she held out a slice of pizza.

April looked slightly disgusted, "It has lint and dead bugs all over it!"

"I know." Angie said as she hugged the slice of pizza happily. "I just found it under my bed. It's eternal."

Angie was about took take a bite out of the pizza slice when a loud boom interrupted her, and scared them all. They all turned to find Lea coming out of the kitchen, smoke billowing behind her. Panicked, Angie forgot all about her pizza as she ran towards the doorway. What she saw made her gasp, "My beautiful kitchen! Nooooo! Lea you are not allowed in the kitchen by yourself, so what were you doing in here?!" Angie asked as she ran into the kitchen to try to save her domain. Looking guilty, Lea quickly followed her back into the kitchen.

April giggled while Raph just rolled his eyes, and walked off to his room. He needed to talk to Spike, especially about what he had done when he tried to save Lea. He had seen she was in danger, and he panicked. Doing the first thing he could think of, covering her with his own body. But then, once the danger had passed he just couldn't seem to move off of her. He just didn't understand his reaction.

Seeing everything was under control, Master Splinter went back to the dojo as April made her way over to Donnie. "Thanks, Donnie, for always being there, even when I didn't want you to be." April hugged him, and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. Unfortunately, Angie had just come back in and all she saw was the kiss.

"Hey!" She yelled at April. Even though she knew April had meant nothing by it. She did her best to pretend to act mad. "Nobody kisses my mate, but me!" Then with a playful glare in her eyes, she attacked April. The two ended up wrestling on the floor.

Donnie dumbfounded, did nothing but watch. Then he smiled. "Ah! So awesome." He said as he watched his mate and best friend. "I love being a turtle!"

 **That's it for now. Please review.**


End file.
